Understanding YouTube Data Limitations
Learn what types of YouTube data Analyse can access and what restrictions apply due to YouTube’s Data API policies. YouTube is a powerful platform for brand visibility and audience engagement, but access to its data is governed by Google's API permissions. This article outlines what YouTube data Analyse can collect and what’s not currently supported.
What YouTube Data Is Available?
Analyse supports owned YouTube channel data when the account is connected and authorised. Available data includes:
- Comments on your brand’s public videos
- Video metadata, such as title, publish date, view count, like count, and comment count
- Mentions of your brand in video titles or descriptions (if the video is public)
- Usernames of commenters (if available via the API)
You must connect a verified Google account that owns the YouTube channel to unlock full access to comments and video metrics.
What YouTube Data Is Not Available?
The following YouTube data types are not accessible in Analyse:
- Comments on non-owned channels or competitor videos
- Mentions of your brand within the video content itself (speech or subtitles)
- Private or unlisted videos
- Direct Messages (YouTube Messaging is deprecated)
- Historical comments prior to channel authorisation (limited access)
Best Practices for YouTube Integration
- Always connect a Google account that owns your brand's YouTube channel
- Monitor the comment section of high-traffic videos to surface brand sentiment
- Use video descriptions and titles to track branded campaigns
- Reauthorise if permissions are revoked or login credentials change